Finder mechanism for beet toppers



Oct. 6, 1953 G. E. STADSTAD 2,654,205

' FINDER MECHANISM FOR BEET TOPPERS Filed June 30, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l Gemye fl gi a iaci in the reelsand under thebelt may be Patented Oct. 6, 1953 FINDER MECHANISM FOR BEET TOPPERS George E. Stadstad, ManvelgjN, 'Dak., -assig11or to International Harvester Companna corporation of New' Jersey 1 Air ine? i 56" 19.51, vserial 2344 3 1 l v n iq re a s t gr cu tura im l ments and particularly to" beet topp'ers More specifically 1 th nt ofi c nc rn 3 mprre beet finder orgauge constructionfor" use with a beet topper. H

The invention is particularly applicable. to the driven or endless belt type ofbeet finder. Topping mechanism for beets and the like customarily includes travelling support upon which is mounteda blade forsevering the crown from beets and in :advance'thereof a finder adapted to engage the beets ahead of the cutting blade and to rise and fall with the variation in size of the beets so that the proper'amount of crownmay be severed by'thecuttin'g blade. Thetopping mechanism is thereforemoinited for'vertical floating movement upon the support. Since beet toppers are required to "operate under soil conditions varying from dry to'wet and 'from light to heavy clayey soils, the meehanismiwhich engages the beets and the" earth thereb'etween-is subject to fouling particularly'by damp soil. 'In the case of the driven'typeoffinder such as that with which the present invention is concerned comprising an endless'belttrained around rotating rollers or reels, the rollers or'the roller in contact with the ground and'the beet topsis likely to become clogged with sticky soil which gets under the belt and interfe'res'with its" operation.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide an improved beet finder of the driven endless belt type which is capable of operating successfully in all soilconditions without the disruption of service and the frequent cleaning usually required 'of a 'device' operating under such difficult conditions; I

Another object of the inventionis to provide an improved beet finder of the driven endless belt type wherein the accumulation of earth under the belt, with the consequent disruption of operation a point where it interferes with the operation of the finder unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an endless belt beetfinder wherein the belt is trained around rotating reels, an-auger within the reel heldsta'tionary so that'dirt accumulating discharged from the end of the auger.

7 Claims. I (01. 56 -12 l.46)

tailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is an w in perspective of a typical beet topping unit utilizing a driven beet finder or gauge embodying the features of'the present invention; and e Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the: gauge mechanismwith parts broken away and shown-in-section showing the details of construction of the beet finder of this invention.

' Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that the "beet topper incorporating the gauge mechanism of this invention is mounted upon the side of a tractor |0 having side sills H, a front axle l2 and a pair or laterally spaced dirigible "front wheels [3} only one ofwhich is shown. The

' upon which is pivotally'mounted a pair of rearwardlyand downwardly extending links l8which support at their rear ends a'transverse shaft l9 uponwhichismountedagear housing 20 which rotatablycarrie's' a shaft, not shown, upon the lowefend 'ofwhich is mounted the cutting disk 2|. 5 Suitable gearingof 'a conventional nature is provided inthe'housingfll for transmitting monon betweenthe'shaft'wfand'thedisk 2|. As indicated inFigu'rel, shaft I9 is driven by a*chain '22 trained around as'procket"wheel 23 on the shaft 19 and another sprocket wheel, not'shown, mounted 'on 'the inner end of shaft ll; Shaft I! may be driven in any suitable manner'from the tractor powerplant.

Anarm 21! secured to the "housing 20 and extending forwardly ariddownwardly therefrom serves asa support for o'neend of a transversely extending shaft '25; the other end of which is rotatably ca'rried'inan angle bracket 26 which is secured by... suitablebolts to an arm 21 afiixed to one of thelinks l8 and depending therefrom. Bracket 26; also carries an idler roller 28 which engages, a chain .29 drivingly connecting a sprocket wheel 30 mounted upon the shaft l9 and another sprocket wheelx3l mounted upon the "shaft 25. Shaft 25'is'thus driven from the same source as the cuttingdiskilr Likewise mounted upon "the shaft 25 isa frame forithe-endless 'belti beet finder comprising laterally spaced frame members 32 and 33. These frame members 32 and 33 are respectively mounted upon bearings 34 and 35 rotatably carried on the shaft adjacent the ends thereof. Likewise mounted upon these bearings 34 and are the ends of a guide roller or reel 36 comprising circumferentially spaced slats 31 mounted upon. a hub 3B-keyedto the shaft 25. Since the shaft 25 is driven by the connection of chain 29 to sprocket wheel 3|, the reel 36 is driven therewith.

The frame members 32 and 33 are eagh provided with an eye-bolt 39 which is apertured to receive the threaded end ofanqtherbolt-4 llyvhich is affixed as by Welding to. another pa rpf frame members 4| and 42 which are connected to the respective frame members 32 and 33 means of the reception of bolts 40 in eye-bolts 39. Aslot a3 is also provided in each of the framemembers 4| and 42 to receive a bolt 44 slidable in the slot. Thus the frameparts, 32, and.;4 l,-, ,42,,rnay be the e l hq lfill dv d ustin t "b aspe t bo s flrt a gr p 9 .thisediu -i x th om ngrleen' he eina te ;Th r w d r. x end n nd -:1th ram parts 4| and 42 are enlarged and ,,aper tured,.to receive sleeves lllwhichseryeas a-bearingsurface .forthe opposite ends; of, a, slatted; uide-reflex.- or e v e p ne ci smz e BI tJalhr-v pac d-we or slats, #9 having spacestherebetWBen-Ias indicated in the drawings. The rollers 35 andy The ameth Qflns E E s-braced; y thermnv ism- 0 ay rti el e tend-insi nia 5 I sec r g t e :t f am in r -b .b; an

e te d n ward a het om- Templates 5 et ppo it es ofsit ecfi e inerare QQBBQQtBdybIVl rid e 53- W. ?h sri t rn-conn ct d b a a 54 with the bracket: 25.

; As po nted; ut-before: d rtlaccu-mulat s in :the

1 l: M..- which. i :the end of lthe beet finderen rmally in engagement-with that ground and; with the tops of-the beets. accumulation of dirt,

of course: fouls the finder and interferes .W-ith'the operation ofthe: tendlessr-beltztrill. rDirt,-getting wunder the-belt between thebelti and the guide I or roller 48 passesintoi the interior ofthe-aroller and accumulates there. Means. ztherefore ,must be provided for dischargingthisdirt; ,otherwise it willbuildup under the belt. -.-.In-.order-.to overcome the tendency of this dirttqaccumulate and to discharge'the:dirt-fromithe finder unit,.=applicant has discovered-that:an-auger '55 mounted axially within :the; guide or reel: 14 B. and held sta- I tionary therein causes the dirt tobe pressed into the convolutions :thereof during-the rotation of the reel 48 and to move toward one; end'thereof.

Y One end of the reel 48 andthebearing 41 is therefore left open tolthe outside, whereas theother end. adjacent the frame part 42 is provided. ,with a 'closureor cap 56 secured by-bolts 51 to the enlarged..end of the member-'42. .:One.end-.of'-the augerj 55 is. affixed by welding .to the closure -56 in a cantilever suspension construction, the-free reel 48. and terminating adjacent-the openrendof the reel at the frame member 4|. The cantilever stationary auger 55thus is held stationary by being afiixed at one end to the frame. The auger is readily removable from the reel 48 by withdrawing the bolts 5l, and may be easily replaced or cleaned if desired.

it is believedthat the; operationof the station- .aryv augerfor beet finders toprevent-accumulation of dirt therein will be clearly understood from ,the foregoing description. However, it should ,also be understood that modifications may be made inthe invention without departing from the sli jitgtherepf or the scope of the appended claims.

lrlnea, driven-finder for beets and the like adapted tqtravelupon the surface of the ground and to engage the growing crop, at supporting frame; a pair of spaced rollers rotatably carried by the frame, an endless belt trained on said rnlle tlea t on ai l com r g cireiim sntial s ac -e a in sl s ands at ona ya e r; ca e paa fr esn e endi e1a e1 thr ue sa d a t r l 2. In a driven finder for beets and theyljlie eda ato ra el ew the g fa eoftbe sm A we a t w ng crop. s po tme fr ame, a pair of spaced -roll ers rotatablyacarried bythe. frame,-an.-endless belt trained onsaid rollers, at least one-of said-rollers comprising circumferentially spaced belt-engaging; slats, and; a cantilever auger-shaped membercarried by the frameand, extending axially throughsai vroller.

, 3. rAdriven endlessbelt; assembly comprising a supporting frame, a driven shaft rotatably meuntedpn :the frame, a beltguide mountedon th sha a second "sn de spaced from and; pa .a-l c q thefir t sni e 'a d 'mtat v me n for fre r etio Qnthef me an end e helttrain d ;@On !i =j ell-ides; an arra e .t 1 a i rotary vinqtie i e.mthefir tt thes rene. e id to d ive i the .la;tt e r, and a;;non -r.ota;table auger-shaped m enwit in a dsste di a a fd c- Qll 143.

4. A; driven-endless; belte assembly comprising a support-ing I frame, a driyen -shaft rotata'bly -,-rneunted;on the frame,- a belt guide mounted on -,;the shaft, a second guidespacedfrom and parallel-to the firstguide androtatablymountedfor free rotation on the frame, an endless belt trained 0;;on said guides and arranged to transmit-rotary motienfrom thefirst to-the second guide to drive the. latter,-=said second guide having an axial opening- .formed therein and extending there- ;gthrough; a stationary closure: atone end of said 55 guide, and an auger-shaped member-in said openend of the augerextending axially through the,

i'g l gandsecured at one end to said closure.

5. -In adriven finder-for beets and-the like adapted to travelupon thesurface of the ground ,1- and engage the growing crop, asupporting frame,

a pair of parallel spaced-apart reels carried by -5-:the-frame,- anendless belt trained on said reels, 1 anrauger extending axially through one of said -reels, and means fornon-rotatably supporting said auger onthe frame.

* firIn adriven finder for beets and the like adaptedto travel upon the-surface of the ground and engagethe growing crop, a supporting frame, a driven-shaft carried at one. end of the frame and having a belt guide mounted'thereon, a pair 0- of aligned bearings carried by said frame spaced fromcsaid shaft, aslatted reel extending between said" bearings and having its ends rotatably mounted'thereoman endless belt trained on said 'belt guideand reel,.an-. auger extending axially 5 through said bearingsand said-reeL-zand means for non-rotatably securing said auger to the frame, whereby the auger remains stationary while the reel revolves.

7. In a driven finder for beets and the like adapted to travel upon the surface of the ground and engage the growing crop, a supporting frame, a driven shaft carried at one end of the frame and having a belt guide mounted thereon, a pair of aligned bearings carried by said frame spaced from said shaft, a slatted reel extending between said bearings and having its ends rotatably mounted thereon, an endless belt trained on said belt guide and reel, a cantilever auger extending axially through said bearings and said reel, and means for non-rotatably securing one end of said auger to the frame.

GEORGE E. STADSTAD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 1,454,501 Anderson May 8, 1923 2,468,994 Moreau May 3, 1949 2,488,735 Orendorff Nov. 22, 1949 

